Comcast Raises Prices, Disconnects Complaint Line

By Ben PopkenDecember 2, 2008

Reader Benjamin is pissed because Comcast in his town of Richmond, VA they raised his rates, and justified it by saying they have to pass on the cost of rising gas, technology, and health care. He writes “Gas is a Buck’ 69, they haven’t improved the technology in my area, and health care… Really? They might as well of added a $5 fee to restock the candy bowl in the break room of the service center while they are at it.” If that’s not fun enough, see what happens when he tries to file a complaint about it. They try to route him to the complaint line…but it’s been disconnected!

Benjamin writes:

Normally, I just accept the inevitable and pay without contest. But the “gas prices” line really bugged me, so I decided to call in and complain.

Since this is an issue with the billing and pricing plan, I tried to talk to someone in billing support. I’m not one for popping a blood vessel, so I calmly asked for an explanation as to why overall decline in fuel prices is responsible for the increase in the cable fees. The person from Comcast said that they could not help me and that I had to call the complaint line. Up until this point, I hadn’t had a complaint- I just wanted some explanation. She puts me on hold so that she can get me the number for the complaint department. Then she comes back with something that literally made me speechless for a few moments… “The complaint line phone has been disconnected.”

Me: (Pause) Wait? What?

Comcast: You need to go to the web site and submit a comment through email.

Me: Comcast disconnected its complaint line?

Comcast: Go to our web site and click on the ‘contact us’ button and submit an email.

Me: Is the complaint line going to be reconnected anytime soon?

Comcast: On our web site under ‘contact us’.

Me: Are you serious?

This didn’t go anywhere so I eventually hung up. I did send an email from the Comcast web site and a few minutes later received a rather robotic, wholly unsatisfying response that basically said ‘whatever, we don’t really care’.

Its ridiculous that Comcast can claim that because of the INCREASE in gas prices, the INCREASE in technology prices, and INCREASES in health care costs that my bill needs to be raised $30-$40 a month. Is there any guarantee that when these outrageously high gas prices go down that the monthly charges will go down as well? And for the record, I haven’t seen any enhancements to my service. I’m paying more for the exact same services that I got two months ago.

Benjamin D.

Calling Comcast customer service and expecting a sensible explanation for why they raised rates is like trying to thread the Empire State Building through the eye of a needle. You might be better off registering your gripe with the local Public Utilities Commission. At least their complaint lines still work.

Comments

Edit Your Comment

I am about to file a BBB complaint about comcast. I want to get an HD box and have been to the local comcast office about 6 times over the last 2 months. They never have boxes and say they will get more the following week. I go next week and no boxes. Yet if I call and schedule a technician to come out to install the box for a $50 fee, they magically have HD boxes and can come in a week. I’m about to file a complaint because I bet once I do, they’ll have a box for me ready to pick up.

@milrtime83: No, it’s not a valid reason. They need to coordinate within their company MUCH more. I’ve never seen such a disorganized operation.

I also think that it should be illegal for them lie to you about install dates, etc. Maybe it’s time that we get some consumer protection laws in places specifically targetting the cable industry. Something like $1000 automatic statutory damages every time they break the rules, kind of like they had to slap on the debt collection industry due to their sleaze. The cable companies deserve this just as much and I don’t see any other good way to reign in sleazy operators like Comcast.

@comcastcares: Does comcast care that I don’t get AMC HD anymore, for NO GOOD REASON? I’ve called several times to either get it back or get a discount (its one of my favorite channels), with no luck. However, you did send a service person out to replace my box with a crappy HD DVR (Cisco RNG-200) when my SA Explorer was working just fine, and now the DVR is making my HD channels go out for random periods… I didn’t get CNN last week, CW this week…

@HRHKingFridayXX: Oh, so you have the CW in HD? I have comcast and I don’t have it. Off the top of my head we don’t have the Weather ChannelHD, SpikeHD, Cartoon NetworkHD, SpeedHD and I’m sure there are HD feeds of MSNBC and other news channels other than CNN that are available but I don’t have them. We do have AMC though. Cable television is the worst monopoly ever.

@Sollus: CW is basic cable, so if you don’t have it on your comcast line up you can always turn the box off and tune in that way. It would not shock me at all if that was the case, as retarded as it sounds.

I also have a weird mix. CNN hd, but no other news channels. I had directtv before, and got way more channels in HD. Plus, the way they had the menu set up, you could see both food network SD and HD next to each other (AND had different programs on each!). Now I have to flip through 100 channels of junk seperating my SD and HD, and it looks like they just did a bad upconvert so its the same thing on both channels (just with a stretched barely 720 on HD).

Oh, and I emailed the “comcast cares” douche earlier today, and they haven’t responded.

@HRHKingFridayXX: A friend of mine used to handle complaints at Comcast and he mentioned that there was some volume of calls about the AMC channel. Apparently, people weren’t used to seeing film in HD and didn’t like the film grain. Seriously.

@liquidnumb: I only watched some of the more recent films on AMC. I always appreciated that they wouldn’t cut out as much as other cable networks. I mean, really, I can handle an f-bomb after 10pm thankyouverymuch.

@comcastcares: seriously? I am really sick of this response. Your company should get their damn act together and provide service of this level to EVERYONE not just the ones that complain on Consumerist. If you put the same efforts into costumer service that you do into battling bad PR (aka your response) maybe you wouldn’t suck.

I don’t care if you manage to actually help this guy, you should be working on fixing the problem, not greasing the squeaky wheel. How many other people have that problem and get stuck in an endless phone tree instead of complaining here. You actually design your customer service in a manner that denies customer’s their paid for services. Health care costs? If you don’t farm out 100% of your phone CSR’s I will eat my e-hat.

@bravo369:
The way the cable box thing works at comcast is truely messed up, but i can explain why they are never there when you show up.

At all of their offices, the only cable boxes they have are ones that someone turned in that day or that week (depending on how busy the place is). less people have hd boxes so there are less to go around.

the messed up part of that is, you might not even get a working unit. a few months ago i went into the office and got a cable box, no matter how or where you connected it, the screen was garbage with static, even for the menu screen which has nothing to do with the actual cable.
I took it back and told them it wasn’t working right and they gave me a new one, but i gaurentee the next day someone else got my non working box. they just give them out until they land in someone’s hands that doesn’t complain.

@Nick1693: The “help” you get from that is about as useful as a punch in the crotch. I received the same canned crap as the woman making $6 sitting behind 4″ thick bulletproof plexiglass at my local comcast office doled out.

I’d prefer it if they just called these hikes the “Because We Can” fee. I’ve said the same about Ticketmaster, rename the obviously bullshit name “convienience fee” to the “cuz where the hell else ya gonna go” fee and I’ll probably just shrug and say yup rather than going out of my way to get tickets at the box office directly.

@marsneedsrabbits: It might be a regional thing, because all I hear about is how absolutely horrible it is to even get it installed, how they mess up your house while they’re at it, their technicians don’t know what they’re doing, their customer service is abysmal, and they’re worse than comcast about actually showing up to do the work you’re asking.

I’ve also heard that they haven’t proved much faster, etc. So honestly, I don’t know. Could be the local people, could be they’ve gotten their kinks out and it’s because my friends were early adopters or something, who knows.

i contacted my local BBB about comcast. a couple of months passed and i received a letter from BBB saying that comcast had ignored their request for info on my case. a couple of more months passed and finally somebody from comcast called me to see waht the problem was. i won’t get into the specifics of my case, but suffice it to say, comcast isn’t really intimidated or concerned about the BBB. Or laws. Or, well, anything, really.

But definitely contact the BBB about these crooks. Maybe someday all the complaints will prove useful in a class action lawsuit.

I just got these hikes in Minneapolis too! What a bunch of arrogant bastards. Isnt the FCC investigating them for a lack of product for a high price? And the raise the price?? We pay waht will soon be $60/month ad we get standard channels, which apparently does not include channels like A&E. But I get plenty of music channels. SWEET.

I don’t have a problem with Comcast, well, because I don’t subscribe. I canceled them and replaced them with an antenna. Now I get stellar HD picture, much better than Comcast ever delivered, there are no cables, no fees, no rental cable box, no customer service, no bill. It’s great! Comcast, wake up. Free Digital TV is competing with you.

We just got a Comcast rate increase, too. Funny how happened so much less frequently before Comcast took over our former cable company. I hate the excuses, too. The really lame thing is that they raise the rates on basic cable and justify it by citing “technology upgrades”, when in fact the main purpose of the “upgrades” is to help Comcast compete better on offering more HD channels, VOD, etc. So essentially if you have fewer of their services you end up subsidizing everyone else. I especially hate paying more so they can offer more video on demand, a service I have no desire to ever use through Comcast. The Internet and my Tivo provide all the VOD I need.

We’ve been having Epic Comcast Deathmatch 2008 for the better part of a month now, also in VA (I’m hoping my BF will write it up and submit it here, once we see what happens next), and every time he tried to get to customer support on a weekend the phone tree rerouted him to billing.

I contacted the local city council board that deals with their franchise agreement after all my hassles and copied them on the e-mail to the CEO. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy to be getting that and demanded a written response within 3 business days. Now today is the third business day and I haven’t heard anything, but she has more pull with the government relations office than I ever will have.

From another disgusted Richmond area Comcast customer….I called to remove HBO and DVR (saving 40.00 per month!) and they charged me a 2.00 service change fee! This was not mentioned when the change was made. Also our high speed internet access is getting slower by the day. Isn’t it convenient that they now offer a “boost” package you can pay for to help with that? I laugh bitterly at their customer first commercials.

Actually, now that I think about it, this is kind of just honesty in advertising on Comcast’s part. They’re just trying to let you know that it’s not like they plan on actually acting on any of your complaints. They’re just being more upfront about it, instead of pretending to take them down and then doing nothing, as per usual.

Excuse me, but $60 dollars for basic cable is theft.
I think until all Comcast customers threaten to cancel it will
be business as usual. You should be able to pay per channel
and not forced to pay for 60 channels of crap.
I have Comcast, but we have basic broadcast only which
costs about $13 plus internet $42. The internet would cost more if I didn’t purchase the $13 cable plan. I will never good cable until Comcast allows you to buy the HD DVR and doesn’t charge you a monthly fee for equipment. I just signed up for
Netflix and can watch a ton of movies on the the Xbox 360
for $15 a month. That’s the price of one pay channel on Comcast.

The local anti-comcast: Knology, (which is quite good mind you, no real major complaints, unlike comcast) is raising their rates based on the services you use. Mine will come out to be about 5 dollars a month extra, they’re citing an increase in broadcast rates by television networks and conglomerates.

Probably because they can’t sell advertising space because they can’t produce decent shows, and the auto company money is drying up..

@2wheelsor4?: Knology took over our regional cable provider last summer. They immediately raised our rates. When I asked why I got some BS answer that boiled down to “cause we can”. Our service has degraded since they took over and nobody cares. Your only recourse is to leave for one of our other two stellarly crappy choices. They also quietly cut on demand channels.

State PUCs need to all start regulating cable and broadband providers. Either that or communities need to start creating their own co-op style telecom services for broadband and cable.

@Angryrider: Aren’t they using all of those crappy contractors specifically to AVOID paying benefits? So… we get crappy service calls (if they do bother showing up) AND we get to pay for the health benefits that Comcast does NOT provide. “Awesome.”

I just canceled my comcrap cable last week in favor of FIOS. When I called to cancel they asked why, I responded becuase FIOS IS CHEAPER AND BETTER, I literally have an HD equivalent for every channel. The rep responded, sir we have the largest HD channel lineup. I didnt even bother refuting.

Speaking of that, can someone tell me how comcast is allowed to say they have the most hd content when they obviously dont, just to name a few i have espn2hd, espnuhd, espnnewshd which i never had on comcast. Someone should look into that.

@G_Money21: Because they broadcast a bunch of shopping/junk HD channels. Also, if you get their super, super premium, they’ll broadcast everything in HD, regardless of whether the content was made for it (ie lots of stretching pictures… shudder).

@G_Money21: You are right. Especially since they are no longer even pushing true HD signals. They are below 720p right now until DOCSIS 3.0 arrives in all markets then “MAYBE” they will go back to true HD.

Anyone else want to cancel communistcast and go back to rabbit ears on their new HD tv? I received a notice saying i’ve been receiving BLAST! internet and my bill was going up 10 bucks. I called to complain and she says, Oh we’ve errantly sent those bills out and are trying to track down who went sent them to. Yeah my *** you are. You’re waiting for the smart people to catch you in you lie. Comcast thats all you are LIES LIES!

I know their pricing sucks, but honestly, you can call them up and they will lower your rates if you ask for a deal, so long as there is something for you to “upgrade to”
if you are on standard cable, and not on a promo in the last 60-90 days (depending on where you are), call up and enter the numbers as if you were a new customer (the people on these lines are always the nicest)
Then tell them you already have service but you would like to see if there were any special promos you are eligible for. You should be able to get at a minimum 6 months at $30ish for digital cable, which is about 30/mo savings over standard cable.
if you are lucky you can get that rate for a full year +free HBO and Starz.
the same thing works for internet and phone. so long as you haven’t had a promo in 2-3months they will let you get on one.

@HRHKingFridayXX: I finally got a bill reduction after calling 2 different numbers (the local number and the 800 number) and talking to, among others, a rep who initially told me that there were no special offers and then, when I asked to speak to his supervisor, came back on the phone and told me that they did indeed have an offer, but it was only for new customers, and he’d get in trouble if I spoke with his supervisor. HE REFUSED to let me speak to his super!

I got a similar runaround at the 800 number until I said the magic words “Cance” and “Verizon” and I was promptly transferred to a nice lady who gave me the deal (which was advertised, I might add, for existing customers). Total talk time: 1 hour 45 minutes for 6 months worth of “deal”. Now my service has returned to “normal” and I have seen the rate hikes that others are talking about (in Nashville).

So, if its this much trouble to get an ADVERTISED CURRENT CUSTOMER deal, I can’t imagine the brain-melting bullshit someone has to go through to get a “hey, help me out” bill reduction.

Fuck comcast: I’ve been compiling a list of channels that I just can’t live without, and so far comcast is losing this fight. OTA HD and TV via the Intarwebs FTW!!!

@tevetorbes: I said cancel, but I live in a building that only has comcast (yay, apartment companies taking bribes!) so they know I have nowhere else to go. I’m also considering just OTA-ing it. And maybe getting a Tivo to record weekend movies to make it seem like I have more programming.

I have wondered after reading these posts why people don’t just CANCEL THEIR COMCAST SERVICE.If they are charging too much for what they provide,find an alternative , do something else or just man up and pay whatever they demand. We decided that the cost/benefit relationship was not in our favor a long time ago and just turned the damn thing off. Obviously , it did not kill us because you are reading this. I honestly don’t miss it.But if you complainers think that they give a doughnut hole about what you think,you’re wayyyyyy out of touch. The only language they understand is the bottom line.

I just failed to lower my bill with Comcast via the “Call and Ask” route, it turns out the only promotion they have right now is the triple play for $109 per month. So I cancelled. Luckily I’m in Baltimore, so I’m signing up with Xohm, I hear great things, I hope it works for me too. Also I’ll just sign up for a year with DirectTV or the Dish, and when the price defaults higher, I’ll switch to another provider. Pretty silly that that’s the way to keep your bill low.

@Adisharr: I have noticed over the past year or two that Time Warner has really stepped up their game. It started with a call back queue instead of waiting on hold forever for customer service (and they actually call you back, usually in less than 30 minutes). I am guessing this has taken a lot of the stress off of the CSRs as they have fewer “I’VE BEEN ON HOLD FOR AN HOUR!!!” screaming customer calls.

And recently on a service trip, their technician showed up on time and called when he was on the way.

I still think their prices are high, but their customer service has definitely improved.

@Adisharr:
I haven’t been so lucky. My Time Warner internet has this habit of not working and flashing little buttons at me about bimonthly so I have to keep replacing the damn thing.
Oh, and my digital cable will disappear and no one knows why other than “It’s only your tv… we think.”
Then 6 hours later, I’ve got 3 time warner trucks running up and down the street trying to fix everyone’s everything.
Although… I will admit… Sounds better than Comcast. -.-

@Saboth: I got a Tivo mainly because if I was going to have a DVR I didn’t want that money going to Comcast. And also because I knew there product and associated support would be crap by comparison, given their track record.

Comcast just moved the Cartoon Network off the analog portion and into their digital lineup. My family is pissed about it. They are 18. I’m going to go digital soon after I’ve finally get my HD TV, they just don’t want to wait.

If you are in Virginia, call the State Corporation Commission. They regulate Comcast, as well as Verizon. I share your pain and when I switched to FIOS, I had to get the SCC pitbulls on the case. It worked-amazingly well and pretty immediately. They take their responsibility seriously. Various other states probably have the same type of regulatory agencies. Worked great for me. SCC wouldn’t let them bill me until all my issues had been resolved.

@johnva: They could do what Verizon does fith their FiOS Boxes, offer to mail/FedEx them to your house at no additional charge. When FiOS dropped their analog signals, they sent 2 digital converter boxes at no charge to my house. Could not have been any easier.

Don’t bother. If my service is any example they are complete liars. We have the highest option I think and they clearly do no have the most HD channels. Directv kicks their ass in that department and Directvs HD channels have much better quality. My girlfriend has Directv and it makes me sick that my service sucks so bad. I keep telling my parents they need to switch over but they never do anything about it.

We had comcast for years. We started complaining a year ago about a lousy picture when it got really cold or wet. They kept sending techs out who would check everything in the warm, dry light of day and say there was nothing wrong. After 6 months of this and having it escallated with no good results we switched to fios. Then we found out that 3 of our neighbors had the same problem with comcast and all 3 switched to fios because comcast had their head in the ground. They could not figure out that if 4 houses in a cluster had the same complaint, maybe they should send someone out who knew something to look at the problem! Good bye comcast, we’re glad to be rid of you.

I live outside of Richmond and I feel the same pain. My Comcast rates go up and many channels I enjoyed have been moved to digital tiers. I’ve got 4 TVs in my house and having to buy a box for each television increases my monthly fees.

What is really sad is the fact that half of my street now uses Satellite. Comcast has spent a lot of money on infrastructure, and due to extortionate pricing and poor channel selection, they drive customers away!!

The good news is that Verizon is laying fiber and FIOS will be available soon. With broadband over fiber, IP TV is legitimate technology and services like Hulu and Netflix VOD will get better… rendering the cable company nothing more than a middleman!

@MitchV: When I heard the location my reaction was, thank goodness it’s an area fios will eventually hit.

If comcast hikes prices in my area my alternative for internet is dsl, which in this area is about…oh…twice as fast as dial up. Comcast’s speeds aren’t as promised but are still much higher than that. No fios in my area any time soon either.

Advice? Satellite doesn’t go out near as often as comcast claims it does. It can take a pretty good beating winds wise before crying for mom. The weather there isn’t that much different than a few hours north-ish where I live, and my parents have no trouble with their satellite signal. Verizon here is partnered with directv to offer a package like comcast has.. definitely something to check into.

That comment about passing the cost of gas on to the consumer is pretty funny. I, too, live in the Richmond area, and was at a gas station (at 288 and Rt 10 across from the Chesterfield County Courthouse, down the street from the Comcast station for those keeping score at home), when a Comcast truck pulled in to fill up. The guy started pumping gas–which went into the tank then out through a hole in the line–about total of about two feet from the nozzle. I yelled at the guy to shut the gas off; he did and jumped into the truck and pulled away.

Way to pass the cost on to the customer, Comcast! Any other hazards you want to pass on to the consumer?

Maybe with the new administration, we will get a FCC with real teeth and they will begin to re-regulate the cable guys. The cable guys get away with this because they are a monopoly in their local markets. The key to a better system is in competition, and you don’t get that in an unregulated system. I also think that the whole digital tv system is a gigantic ripoff of the American people, as it makes going back to over the air reception more difficult. The High Def revolution is just a great money making ripoff. Down with Comcast, and up the revolution.

I blame all of you! Look, there are plenty of FREE and less expensive alternatives now. Free over the air HD Digital is soon to be mandatory. There is also FTA satellite. Don’t complain to Crapcast: leave!. The internet offers most TV shows online now, you do not need Comcast. If you insist on paying them the extortion amount they are asking, they won’t stop charging more. Plain and simple. It’s your fault for continuing to feed these monsters. Complain all you want, but each month you pay them, emboldens them to continue their crappy service. I’ve canceled all my programming and watch ‘TV’ on the Internet and with my antenna. Sure, I don’t get some channels I used to like, but so what. I don’t want to pay. It’s not worth it. Now I have more time to read and visit friends.

Calling Comcast because basic service is now 18 bucks. Basic Service! Got absolutely nowhere with customer service. Added that I may take my services elsewhere. CSR’s response to this? “I’ll make note of your concern in your account”.
what a joke.

Here in Middletown, CT we are constantly given the excuse of “bandwidth issues” as the reason why some HD channels that seem to be standard on other carriers (TBSHD, USAHD, CNNHD to name a few) are not available. That does not stop Comcast from charging full price and then on top of it raising prices once again.

The great news for Comcast is that there is a large amount of condo complexes in the area which limit the ability of consumers to switch to dish service (not everyone has an area that faces properly for dish setup).

I’m a Comcast customer in Redmond, WA, and although I don’t like the new maximum bandwidth limit, I must say that I don’t mind Comcast. My parents have the regular internet + cable TV package, and at my house I have the “burst” internet package. My only complaint is when I used to have their business-class internet package, I cancelled half-way through the month and they wanted to charge me for the whole month (even sent me to collections!). Maybe I’m a rare case, but I don’t see why everyone complains about Comcast so much.